Today, I’d like to blow up about what A&K nailed. I really would not like to talk how Astell&Kern’s advertising copy blows hard. I really don’t. But, god, Jr: The Starting Point of Music? God, not only does it lack any sauce, it’s completely derivative.

A&K: if you must go with a random slogan generator based on advertising tropes, at least make the English bite a bit:

AK Jr: Music Starts here.

There. Still derivative, still horrible. But a league above what’s currently on your web page. I’ll invoice you later.

Why go off on A&K’s marketing?

While A&K’s advertising copy has always been bad, their products generally are pretty interesting. And Jr, from a number of subjective and objective angles, is awesome. It’s got its rough edges (literally), but it deserves better.

The Skinny

If you love the meaty, warm sound of the Wolfson WM8740 DAC, Jr is about as good a DAP as you’ll find. While it doesn’t supply the same perfectly stable current (AK Jr RMAA results) as the RWAK100, or even the iPod nano 7G, it hisses way less than Vinnie’s mod, has a nicer button layout, more memory, beautiful branding and machining that neither the original AK100 or the AK120 can touch with a ten-foot pole.

And it’s 499$ USD. That’s less than the AK100 was at introduction.

Before I get into why Jr is A&K’s most perfect DAP, I have a number of complaints to get off my chest:

Design and hardware interface

To the idiot, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Objective goals such as form following function, and ergonomic (built for human interaction) design do not matter. So when I say that Jr’s design is bad, I am not suggesting that Nathan doesn’t like how Jr looks. In fact, I’ll even praise its severe angles. And A&K’s advertising photography is decent.

On paper, Jr is the cleanest, least frilly design that A&K have released since the original AK100. No functional part of it was designed just for ostentation.

Take for instance the volume wheel:

It is hidden in a shallow niche on the back, rather than flaunted and built up by ridiculous shoulders and chins. It doesn’t click quite as solidly as the thimble and aspirin volume pots of the AK240 and AK380, but it is more natural, and far easier to twiddle than either. It doesn’t sit perfectly flush with the case, so when you place Jr ass-down on a desk, or your iMac base, one, or more, corners will float. I predict metal wear.

Jr’s naked Micro SD port is beautifully, smoothly bevelled. Jr’s metal body is finely blasted. And while A&K didn’t bother to align any of their buttons, or ports, or bolts along a common axis (we’ve seen this before), its beveled edges around its bolts are really pretty. And Jr’s glass back even does a Louis Vuitton thing with the A&K logo. Pretentious, but cool.

Still, Jr isn’t ergonomic.

Its sharp corners bite into the hand, and when Jr is in the pocket, it digs into your hip’s tickle pit. It’s so long. Cargo trouser pockets alone are long enough to ensure that Jr’s headphone jack or your headphone cable plug aren’t damaged from lateral stress when climbing the stairs, sitting down, or squatting to squint through a shop window. Only time will tell if Jr will make you bleed.

Simply: Jr isn’t pocket-friendly. If you’re an audiophile in the city, you can purse it. If you’re not into pursing your stuff, or just want to enjoy a stroll around your neighborhood without extra baggage, you’ll have to keep constant attention paid to how Jr and your pocket get along. 499$ is hardly chump change.

Of smaller concern is the ON/OFF logo machined into the power/wake switch. It draws too much attention, and belies the Jr.’s otherwise simple aesthetic. Besides, we’ve had buttons just like it for a decade on everything from iPods to phones; no one needs to be reminded of its use. And the machined logo complicates an otherwise simple, and pretty design.

GUI

Since the AK100, A&K DAPs have been built around a sometimes-brilliant, sometimes-kludgy touchscreen/button cooperative UI. Jr’s GUI is less cluttered and more logically divided than the one seen on the AK240. Larger touch targets are more finger-friendly than on the original AK DAPs. Still, the interface is decidedly mouse-inspired.

Getting to things like repeat, shuffle, play list creation, and song information is as simple as ever. That part of the AK GUI design is bullet proof. The following are my concerns:

Lag – Jr. screen updates are as laggy, or just a bit laggier than the original AK100.

Whither swipe? – modern touch interfaces work around swipe gestures that make it easy to move between artist/album/song. Jr relies on anachronistic mouse-derived button presses.

Redundant volume control – featuring both hardware and software volume controls is great. But as with all AK DAPs, the hardware control hijacks the touchscreen, turning the entire screen into a volume slider. Accidentally bumping it whilst moving your fingers around can cause the volume to jump way up, or down. This is a dangerous and foolish design.

poor icons – gapless, play mode, and repeat functions differ in off and on functions only by the shade of the inner iconography, and are always encircled in grey. At a glance, there isn’t enough visual indication whether or not a function is engaged or not.

Unnecessary error codes – even hitting the track back button from the beginning of an album will return an unnecessary and jarring error code. While I won’t catalogue all navigation issues, it would be much kinder on the user to disable lyrics if they don’t exist, rather than returning an error screen, or leaving the option open. I assume that firmware updates can, and will fix such issues.

iOS 8’s music interface, while uncooperative in displaying details such as bit rate, file type, etc., is far more straightforward and smooth. And, it works blazingly fast even on older hardware such as the iPhone 4s. It would be great if the premium paid for A&K DAPs didn’t merely ensure an interface superior to iBasso and Hifiman, but ensured a user experience on par with what has become standard practice in the phone world, particularly as Astell&Kern take special pain to describe Jr thusly: [The AK Jr] simplifies complex features of Hi-Fi audio to a smartphone-like experience.

Jr starts up faster than either the AK240 or the AK380. GUI lag is similar across each device. What isn’t is screen quality. And while the AK240’s UI is less logically set up than either the Jr’s or the AK380’s, the difference in screen quality is night and day. Next to either flagship, or A&K’s revamped AK100 and 120, Jr’s screen is sallow, its resolution is low, and by comparison, its viewing angles are poor. If it weren’t a device whose operation (and indeed, its marketing) depended so much on a screen, or on the good will of smartphone owners, screen quality wouldn’t be that important. But it is.

File handling

I’m a lazy OSX user. I organize everything through iTunes. And thank god, Jr loads up immediately through the classic A&K USB interface. No messing about with Android File Transfer. Simple drag and drop. Thank god.

Unfortunately, its software isn’t as capable in deciphering ID3 tags as is the older AK100, which normally nails albums, artists, etc., without fuss. Jr nailed about half of the music I haphazardly dumped onto it. The other half is a jumble. Note: both my Mezzo HiFi MSAK100 and my Red Wine RWAK100 handled the same files almost perfectly.

In other words, create folders and carefully file your songs into them.

Finally, gone is the overly optimistic blanket gapless option. Now, only FLAC, WAV, AIFF, ALAC and AAC files retain the option. And… it mostly works. The resulting gap is so minuscule that you may not notice it. But sometimes, despite enabling gapless, and using the right file types, there is a two second pause between tracks.

The good news is that a high-quality firmware update could solve most of these issues.

Back before he became the main photographer for bunches of audio magazines and stuff, Nathan was fiddling with pretty cool audio gear all day long at TouchMyApps. He loves Depeche Mode, trance, colonial hip-hop, and raisins. Sometimes, he gets to listening. Sometimes, he gets to shooting. Usually he's got a smile on his face. Always, he's got a whisky in his prehensile grip.

Indrajit

Brian

I can answer that! I’ll stay away from aesthetics because if you want features and big size, Fiio. Less features and a slim profile with a different design? JR. As for sound, I find that the X5ii seems to be more spacious with a bit more detail on the top end (may be an impedance issue for me), while the JR has a deeper low end and while it doesn’t impress at first listen like the X5ii, I still enjoy the more I listen to it.

I’m not a big portable amp lover. I review amps on their own merit and against other amps. But if a DAP has a decent/good enough (proper current to the right volume) output for the headphones you are using, that DAP should outperform the amp in all metrics apart from absolute volume.

And Jr’s current is VERY good to all volume levels. And again, it doesn’t hiss. HA-2 is awesome. But I’d not put it ahead of Jr for absolutely sound quality.

vick_85

digitldlnkwnt

i will ride my DX90 till the wheels fall off. A&K Jr may have the sound to rival my DX90, but the DX90 read 128GB MSD card with no issue, and battery life is improved. especially with new software. I think the sound of each device is also a big factor is which to purchase. Discontinued it maybe but a good audio products stick around.

The HA-2 can be more powerful than the AK Jr, but it is also more powerful than is necessary for the PM3. Unless you want to damage your hearing, even the iPod touch is powerful enough. The Jr is perfect.

That said, it comes down to how you want to hear: neutral or warm. The Jr is warmer than the DX90. But the differences aren’t night and day. It is more of a patina.

One thing to note: the HA-2 will hiss with earphones. It won’t hiss with the PM3 and M100.

vick_85

TheAff

Loved every line of this review, Nathan. I’ve had my Jr about two weeks now and despite its flaws, they (very mostly) melt away as soon as the music starts. I just sent off my old pair of GR10s to Grado yesterday for a patch-up – I can’t wait to try them with the Jr when I get them back in a few weeks time!

TheAff

The Jr drives the IE800 perfectly, so it’s not a hardware mismatch. But when personal preferences come into play, I think it could be said that the IE800 is perhaps a bit too warm for an already warm player. But that will stand for some people. Others may love the combination.

TheAff

Hey – thought I’d give you an update now I have my repaired GR10s. In fact, it looks like Grado refitted them as GR10e’s as that’s what they look like now; they have the bronze housing for the nozzle.

Soundwise, the synergy between my new GR10s and the Jr is phenomenal. I’m remembering just how much I loved the midrange on them and they bring a certain ethereal quality to certain genres. They’re giving my K3003’s + AK Jr combo a run for their money. I still can’t believe that this sound comes from a single driver IEM.

TheAff

Michael J. White

got my ak jr a couple of weeks ago and the quirks of it ARE absolutely negated by the music quality, and that’s what’s what i was seeking. as i was unable to synch my ak jr to my deftech symphony 1 (wireless) headphones, i thought if i’m going ‘wired’, wtf, lets look at some different cans. i got the oppo pm3’s and what a combo! wow!!

I have only heard the DX80 at shows, and only briefly, but I remember it hissing like mad. If that has been fixed, then good on iBasso. If not, it is worthless for portable earphones. The Jr doesn’t hiss nearly as badly.